Interesting conversation with the only Russian/Crimean I know, (and I don’t know if “Crimean” is correct), anywho, she told me that the U.S. should just stand down. She said that these conflicts have been going on for generations and most people don’t understand the mixed breed that is Ukraine.

I tend to agree with her. Other than enjoying Obama twist in the wind because he has no idea what you do in these matters, I think we should stay the hell out it.
And this:

At a great distance, it is not hard to cheer for the flag waving irregulars on the streets we see on television. Up close they are not so inspiring. The Germans and Russians are up close. Every German and every Russian has an ancestor who died in the lands we now call Ukraine. Add in the Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and the dog’s breakfast of minor peoples who have been run over by one army or another and you can appreciate the difference in perspective. Consequently, they see all of this through different eyes. This is a game community organizers are wholly unequipped to play.

That’s stating the obvious.

That’s not an argument for or against one side of the ruling class. America is an island nation, as a practical matter. Like the Brits, we will naturally have a different take on world affairs. We should appreciate that by staying the heck out of European politics as much as possible. We will never be as good at the Great Game as the Continentals. There’s no shame in it. They will never be as good at freedom and sea power and a host of other things that come naturally to people insulated from other tribes by oceans. We can win the Great Game by staying out of it.
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